Senior Jordan Chapman, the Student Association Vice President of Legislative Affairs, argues that YAF should stop its effort against Michelle Obama’s community service commencement challenge.
I am a Republican, although in the eyes of some of my conservative brethren, I am not a very good one. My party has moved more and more to the right in the past few decades, pushing out moderates who once provided a calming influence to the fiery rhetoric of the right. The Young America’s Foundation, or YAF, has been helping to further shift the Republican Party. Never the ones to shy away from a fight, members of GW’s YAF have been known to court controversy with such events as Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week and, more recently, with their response to first lady Michelle Obama’s community service challenge.
There is a simple reason why the YAF have taken this action. It is not racism, it is a clear understanding of politics. By having Mrs. Obama issue this call, the goal is not as much to help people through volunteerism, instead it is a way to score easy political points. On their own GW students already achieve a fair amount of the called for volunteer hours. Should the numbers reach the required threshold it can become a political tool for the administration showing how they are trying to do X and Y for group Z.
How many other speakers put such a conditional upon their speaking at a university. Last graduation season President Obama still went to speak at Notre Dame after their highly volatile level of protesting and anger. He also still spoke at ASU even though the school showed him disrespect by not granting him the customary honorary degree. Does this mean that it is more difficult to get Mrs. Obama to speak rather than her husband who actually has a real relevance to the world outside of who made his clothes. While I am sure Mrs. Obama has many personal objectives and actions on her own, the fact that the average student at the highly political GW likely cannot name one thing she has done illustrates this fact.
While she could, and likely would be an interesting speaker to hear at graduation, the inclusion of the requirements placed upon the school and the likely manipulation of this situation by the White House, I believe that a political organization such as YAF is well within their boundaries to wish for their hours to not be counted.
I appreciate the honest words balanced thought. In an effort to make our country the best it can, some seem to take out common sense…on both sides of the aisle. Jordan, thank you for challenge.
“It is not racism”
um…who mentioned racism?
Considering the recent comments of people such as Jimmy Carter calling those who oppose Obama as being most likely doing so because “they do not think an african-american can run the country” (that quote isnt a direct copy but it is 99% the same) and Nancy Pelosi comparing the protest on September 12 to riots that occurred in California over gay rights in the 70s, I assumed that that might be an undercurrent in many people’s opinion of the YAF’s action.
However uhm you are technically right, so far in this specific discussion no one has mentioned race.